Climate Maps, Grass Type Chart & More

Helping You Choose A Type of Grass!

GRAPHS | COOL SEASON | WARM SEASON | TROPICAL
TRANSITION | SITE PREP | CLIMATE MAPS | GRASS ALTERNATIVES

STEP 1| STEP 2 | STEP 3 | STEP 4

Grass types are classified as Warm Season grass or Cool Season grass. This is determined by the season of the grass type's active growth period.

This critical information applies to lawn, sports turf and pasture grass. It does you no good to buy and plant a warm season grass only to find that the hard freeze that is normal for your winter will kill out the grass. Same goes for cool season grasses when the summer temperatures of the South shrivel your grass to nothing. Finding the right grass or MIXTURE of grasses is an important step in planting a great lawn, pasture or sport field.

The Turfgrass Selection Climate Zone Map - This map, found below, is a color coded map for selection of the type of grass based on climate (rainfall, etc) and on temperatures.

Turf Grass Selection Climate Zone Map

The Climate Zone Map is a color coded map for the selection of grass types based on CLIMATE (rainfall, etc) and TEMPERATURE. Each zone color in this map will correspond with a number located on the chart beside the map. This number will be used in the grass zone chart below to indicate the best types of grass for the location selected. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A USDA Temperature Zone Map*. See the USDA map here.

• Locate your area from the Climate shown above. This should be where your grass will be planted.
• Match your location color with the Number from the chart, on the right of the map.
• Then locate your area on the grass type zone table below.

Grass Type Table

For more information on grass species in the chart below, please click on a grass type.

Note that you should already have determined your type of grass - Warm Season - Cool Season or Transition zone grass. - Red colors represent Warm Season grasses and Blue colors are Cool season in the Zone Table below:

Alternative Climate Map

Please find below an alternative climate map that displays the actual five primary climate regions of the USA. As you can see in this map the transition zone does not really cross the entire middle section of the USA. Also in reading the information below the map you will see that many of the same grass types grow well in the lower Southwest and the lower Southeastern USA.

• Cool/Humid - This zone includes Northeast, a few of the Midwest states, and much of the Pacific Northwest. Any of the cool season species can be grown here. In addition to cool season grass, some warm season grasses such as Buffalo Grass (in areas of less humidity) have been planted here.
• Cool/Arid - This zone includes much of the dryer areas of the Midwest and West. Cool season grass species are best adapted to this area when irrigation is available; however, Buffalo grass is becoming widely used in the warmer areas, such as Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado for non-irrigated sites or low rainfall areas. Zoysia grass is also grown in the western and most southern parts of this zone.
• Warm/Arid - This zone includes the Southwest states. Use warm season grass species, same as for warm/humid -- see below.
• Warm/Humid - This zone includes the Southeast and Gulf states. Warm season grasses are best adapted to this zone. Bermuda grass is the most common species used but can suffer winter damage in the most northern areas. Zoysia grass is widely used here and in the northern parts of this zone. For the Gulf Coast states, centipede grass, carpetgrass, bahia grass, St. Augustine and Seashore Paspalum are also widely used.
• Transition Zone - This zone extends through the central part of the United States and includes parts of each of the other four zones. Because the transition zone has cold winters that can kill warm-season grasses and hot summers that can kill cool-season species, this zone is the most challenging in which to grow turf grass. Many turf experts recommend tall turf type fescue grass for the transition zone as it is the most drought tolerant of the cool season grasses, and it is tolerant of cold winters as well. Other experts recommend using the most cold tolerant warm season grasses such as Yukon Bermuda Grass, Riviera Bermuda Grass and Zoysia Grass. A mixture or blend of grass types is often used in the transition zone, especially in the most northern areas, these grass seed mixtures are usually comprised of tall fescue grass and bluegrass or a blend of fescue grass types.

USDA Hardiness Zones Map - For Reference

We have provided here an image of the USDA Zone Map to be used for reference when choosing a grass from the grass type table shown above. Note that the USDA map is a Cold tolerance or Hardiness map. This map should only be used as a reference for the 'hardiness' of plants or the lowest temperature that a given plant can tolerate before dying.

World Wide Climate Guide Maps

Europe | South America | North America | Asia

Lawns: Choices | States | Diseases | Fertilizers | Irrigation | Mowing | Pests | Weeds

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